STOA Workshop Robots

On 23 June, MEP Ádám Kósa hosted a workshop in the European Parliament on 'STOA Workshop Robots: enabling the disabled or disabling the abled.'

The workshop aimed at/discussed if and how new technologies can help persons with disabilities and if it is only helps a positive development for everyone in society.

Experts on the topic presented how new technologies have improved their life and work. For example, with computers and apps help to communicate for deaf persons and to read for blind persons. This has increased accessibility to education, employment and to inclusion in society and independence.

One good example in Hungary, providing smart phones and/or tablets to deaf people and then use the Video Relay Interface service to communicate.

But it is an on-going problem in each EU country regarding each government`s funding being allocated to the assistive technologies. It is important that these new technologies are affordable for all so that different citizens in different countries don't have access and then get discriminated because it is not a priority or their government don't have funding for it.

It was a good discussion and workshop and even if new technologies not always result in good development for everyone, it is important that the end user's perspective is the first priority.